Decentralising Waste Management in Ghana: A Path to Local Economic Growth

For years, waste management in Ghana has been largely monopolised by Zoomlion Ghana Limited. While this centralised system has contributed to managing sanitation in major urban centres, it has also concentrated financial and operational control in the hands of a single private entity. This monopolistic approach has limited competition, stifled innovation, and restricted the distribution of economic benefits across communities.

There is a growing need to demonopolise the waste management sector and decentralise its operations to the Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs). By empowering local governments to directly manage waste collection, processing, and recycling services, Ghana can unlock significant economic and social benefits.

Creation of Jobs Across the Country
Decentralising waste management would generate thousands of new jobs at the local level. Each municipality would have the authority to employ local workers for waste collection, sorting, recycling, and environmental education initiatives. This approach would provide sustainable employment opportunities for youth and women, addressing local unemployment challenges.

Boost to the Local Economy
When waste management services are handled locally, the revenues generated stay within the community. Local businesses supplying bins, trucks, recycling plants, and related services would flourish, creating a ripple effect of economic activity. Money that previously concentrated in the hands of a single company would now circulate within multiple districts, stimulating small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and building more resilient local economies.

Improved Service Delivery and Accountability

Municipal assemblies, being closer to the communities they serve, are better positioned to understand local sanitation challenges and needs. Decentralisation would enhance service delivery, responsiveness, and transparency, as residents could directly hold their local officials accountable for sanitation standards.

Encouraging Innovation and Competition

Allowing multiple local companies to operate will foster healthy competition, driving innovation and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of waste management solutions. Municipalities could set performance benchmarks, encouraging service providers to deliver higher standards of environmental management.

Strengthening Environmental Sustainability

Decentralisation would encourage the development of local recycling projects, composting initiatives, and education campaigns on waste reduction. This would promote environmental stewardship at the grassroots level, helping Ghana achieve its sustainable development and climate resilience goals.

Conclusion
Demonopolising waste management in Ghana and decentralising it to Municipal and District Assemblies is not just a policy adjustment but it is an economic and social imperative. It promises to create jobs, strengthen local economies, improve service quality, and promote environmental sustainability. Ghana must move towards a more inclusive, decentralised system where the benefits of sanitation management are shared across the nation and not concentrated in the hands of a few.

_Contributed Justice Kpornyo_
Signed :
Dr. E.K Hayford
Executive Director CDG-GH
0277606338